Both Kyle Whittingham, Tom Herman Have Ties To Urban Meyer

SAN ANTONIO, Tex. – The two coaches in the Alamo Bowl in Utah’s Kyle Whittingham and Tom Herman from Texas have both been assistant coaches under Urban Meyer.

Whittingham was the defensive coordinator when Meyer was the head coach at Utah from 2003-04, while Herman was the offensive coordinator for Ohio State when Meyer was at the helm for the Buckeyes.

Both @UtahCoachWhitt and @CoachTomHerman were assistants under @CoachUrbanMeyer. What did each of the @valeroalamobowl coaches learn during their time as understudies for Coach Meyer? #ValeroAlamoBowl

📹: @KXAN_News pic.twitter.com/ryNluCuCVK

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 12, 2019

Whittingham Benefited From Two Years Under Meyer

The now-Utah head coach was disappointed at first when former Utes head coach Ron McBride was relieved of his duties. Whittingham felt like he was the guy, but is grateful for the two years he spent learning from Meyer.

“Back in 2002 we had a coaching change, coach Ron McBride, who had been there for several years was let go,” Whittingham said. “I felt like I was the next guy, I was ready for it and when Urban (Meyer) got hired I was disappointed because I thought I was prepared to take that on. As it turned out, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Just to be able to work for Urban for those two years was invaluable to my development as a coach, his meticulous approach, he’s detailed, just everything that goes into running a football program on a daily basis. I was able to observe that and work through that. Two years later, I was a much better than before Urban got there. I continue to stay close friends with Urban, to this day we talk every couple of weeks. I can’t express enough gratitude for what I learned through the course of that two years and it was a huge benefit for my career.”

Herman Models Physical Style After Urban Meyer

Herman was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Urban Meyer at Ohio State from 2012-14 before taking over as the head coach of Houston for two seasons that led him to take the job at Texas. He was asked what he learned from his time under Urban Meyer.

“The physicality element certainly stands out,” Herman said. “I know that we pride ourselves in being physical. I know in my time with coach Meyer that was certainly a big point of emphasis. I am sure over the seven days that we (Whittingham) will spend together, we will probably have a lot of stories that we can share. I am tremendously thankful to coach Meyer for his mentorship and the opportunity he gave me at Ohio State.”

The Alamo Bowl will take place on Tuesday, December 31 at 5:30 p.m. in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

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